We love pottering around in our garden, especially this time of the year. There’s always so much to do, bulbs to plant, lawns to mow, edges to trim and tackling that odd creeper that seems to have taken over the world while we weren’t watching. It’s also the ideal time to finally make a little potting shed for our smaller garden tools. What is it with small garden tools? Whenever I look for them they’re MIA. It’s probably my own fault, I have this really bad habit of just leaving them somewhere when my mind changes gears. We’ve even found them in the fridge on one or two occasions. Yup, gardening is thirsty work 😉 This mini potting shed is the ideal solution when you don’t have space for a real life sized shed. It was really easy to make and it’s just big enough to hold the little garden necessities.

Every thing in one place

We drew a very rough plan and threw some ideas around. We wanted the potting shed to be just big enough to store all our little gardening tools and these metal signs fit the bill perfectly. They’re 31 cm (12 1/8″) wide and 15 cm (6″) tall and we used them to create the sides of the potting shed.

A few license plates and a rough plan

Add some pallet wood and we were good to go. We cut two pieces to make the top and base for the shed and another piece to for the door. The top and base measure 23 cm (9″) by 15 cm (6″), while the door is 31 cm (12 1/8″) by 23 cm (9″). The pallet bits were sealed with a weather-resistant stain to protect the wood from soil and water damage. Once the stain was dry we nailed the metal signs onto the sides of the base and top and attached the door with a piano hinge.

Adding hinge and the license plates

I couldn’t find any handles (they’re probably in a fridge somewhere) so we used an old stripped valve and copper saddles instead. To age the saddles Hubby used his blow torch to add a lovely old patina.

Use a blow torch to age the copper

They look so much better and tone in nicely with the valve.

New to old with a blow torch

I wanted the valve handle to sit flush against the door, so we had to make a small hole to accommodate the bottom rounded bit of the valve and then we just screwed it on using the saddles.

Attaching the valve

Valve handle

To hang we attached two picture mounting plates to the back.

Our mini potting shed

She’s just big enough to for all our little gardening bits and when the door flips open we can use her as a mini potting bench.

Just big enough

Perfect working space

I’d love to hear your thoughts about our mini potting shed. Does it work for you?

acraftymix

This is the best. I am always losing my gardening tools. I hate that. Especially when I leave them out and the wooden handles get all messed up in the weather. No one to blame but myself. I bet if I had a pretty little potting shed, like this one, I would take better care of them. Going to have to show this to my husband and have him make one for me! Thanks for the directions. I love the spigot as the handle, so cool.

Love your mini potting shed! Great idea! I had made a mini photo studio similar to this at the other house we had, and it worked really well for my jewelry.
I love your handle, so cool! I am hoping to build me a potting bench once we get our house remodeling over with. I'll have to remember the faucet valve love that idea. Maybe I can incorporate it into my potting bench.

acraftymix

I don't know if I've ever mentioned to you but my house is full of Anglophiles. We love anything having to do with Britain and the union jack. So you know I fell in love with this the minute I saw it. I didn't even care what it was. Until I read the post and realized how clever you are and what a great repurpose of materials this is. Sheer perfection in my book!

acraftymix

I often find random things in my fridge and microwave - my camera was the most worrying! So pleased to learn it's not just me! Lets hope it's because we have creative minds rather than just being a bit daft lol

acraftymix

Michelle, everything you design and make turns out just brilliant! I'd love this mini potting shed, because we do not have a lot of room either and this is so darn cute! What a cool idea and that handle is so well repurposed! Lol, about finding tools in the fridge!

acraftymix

Michelle, I love, love this!! You had me cracking up about how you've found garden tools in the refrigerator, too funny! I love the rustic elements to this. I really like the faucet handle and the metal signs!! This is such a great idea to make it a small potting shed! Another brilliant project!!

acraftymix

Welcome

Hi, my name is Michelle or Mix to my friends. The hubby and I are so glad you popped in for a visit. We’re two IT geeks who freakin’ love making things in our spare time. And if we can re-cycle something at the same time, then we’re super happy. I hope our little blog inspires you to try do-it-yourself, so grab a cuppa and stay for a while.

Blog Awards

Amazon Affiliate Disclosure

A Crafty Mix is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com